


On the Edge of Sleep

by ErinHoltzmann



Category: Florence + the Machine
Genre: Ceremonials Tour, F/F, Interrupted Sex, Semi-Public Sex, Vaginal Fingering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-07-18 19:23:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7327195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErinHoltzmann/pseuds/ErinHoltzmann
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set during the Ceremonials Tour 2012 - Florence is sick of touring and can't relax, so Isa help her with that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On the Edge of Sleep

They had always talked about the places they would see. Back home in rainy London, curled up on Isa’s tiny sofa, they lost themselves in wild fantasies, which led them as far as California or Auckland. For two young women who had hardly ever left the country they were born in, the promises of the Great Unknown were tempting. Playing in front of a different crowd every night, in a different city under a different sky was their dream. A dream, which would remain a dream; they were sure of it.

A few years later, they wished themselves back to that tiny sofa in Isa’s apartment. Their tours were increasingly more exhausting. They never had time for friends or family, and sleep was becoming a concept they could not quite comprehend. The tour bus was stuffy and soon everyone was getting on everyone’s nerves. For the first few days, the whole trip had been one big party, but now everyone was sitting in their own seats and staring out of the window in an absent-minded state.

The worst nights were the ones they had to sleep on the bus. Sometimes there was no time to comfortably stay in a hotel because the distances between the venues were too wide and the time was too short. Florence could never get much sleep on the bus – it was too loud and the bed was uncomfortable and every time the bus drove over a bump she was thrown from side to side. In front of the audience, Florence kept her cool and was her happy, jumpy, usual self, but backstage she was tense and impatient and snapped at everyone who was in her way. Her back and arms hurt from the uncomfortable positions she had to sleep in and she constantly had a headache these days. Her band members were suffering just as much. They also hated the bus and the constant waiting and longed for a break.

Isa did her best to take care of Florence. Florence was an easy person to cheer up. Usually it was enough to watch some episodes of her favourite show with her or to buy her a book. On this tour through 17 American cities, it was much harder. When Isa put on the TV in one of the hotel rooms, Florence told her to turn it off because it gave her a headache. In Davis, Isa found a small bookstore, which sold old books with restored or new-bound covers. Isa bought Florence a book with a bird on a branch on the cover, but Florence only flipped through it before tossing it into her suitcase.

On their previous tours, Florence and Isa had sometimes shared a bed when stress had threatened to take over. Such a night had done wonders to their souls. But on this trip, Florence found herself unable to display any affection towards Isa, let alone have sex with her. Isa had suggested it once, on the day they had tried to watch TV, but Florence had not felt like it, so they had just fallen asleep next to each other. The next morning, Florence had had a bad conscience because she had rejected Isa, but Isa did not hold it against her.

On the previous tours, they had stayed in hotels more often. Everything had been slower and quieter back then and not as many people as now had wanted to see them, so they could take their time to get from one venue to the other because they had only played in the biggest cities. Florence missed comfortable bedrooms and privacy and Isa next to her. The bunk beds on the tour bus were so cramped that they could not sleep next to each other if they huddled together.

Going on tour was not as fun as Florence had thought it would be.

*

After eleven days on tour, Florence shouted at Isa for the first time. Isa dropped a glass while they were backstage, getting ready for the concert. Florence was startled and her first reaction was to attack Isa for being so clumsy.

“Can’t you pay more attention?” she snapped into Isa’s direction. “You and your big, clumsy hands shouldn’t even be allowed back here.”

Isa’s hands were much smaller than Florence’s and by the way she looked at them, Florence immediately knew that she had upset Isa, but she found herself unable to take back what she had said. The others were as shocked as Isa, but Florence also could not apologise to them. Instead, she hurried to the bathroom and locked herself inside until it was time for the sound check.

That night, Florence fell asleep with tears streaming down her face. For the first time, she had the feeling that she was in over her head and that she could not cope with the stress. Usually, she would have spoken with Isa about her fears, but after her fit today, this was not possible.

The next morning, everyone seemed to be avoiding Florence. They did it so they would not antagonise her further, but it only made her feel lonelier than she already was. The day was scheduled as a travel day and even though it was meant to give them the opportunity to relax, they had to spend it on the bus. Florence tried to sit with the others for some time, but since no one made an attempt at conversation, she made a flimsy excuse and crawled into her bunk, which was at the opposite end of the bus.

The only privacy the tour bus offered was a curtain in front of every bunk, so at least no one could watch you sleep. Florence pulled the curtain shut, so that no light would sting her in her burning eyes. She felt close to tears again and she did not want the others to see her crying.

For a while, it was quiet. The only sounds Florence heard were the airstream and the occasional sound of a horn. She felt herself slowly drifting off to sleep – she had not slept properly all week and felt the exhaustion in every bone. Just as she was beginning to dream, a knocking sound woke her up.

“Yes?” she asked, her voice soft with sleep.

“Flo, it’s me.” It was Isa’s voice. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Florence quickly dried the few tears which had run down her face. “All right.”

Isa pulled back the curtain. Florence’s bunk was the top one of three and Isa was so small that Florence could only see the top of her head. Isa had to stand on tiptoes to be able to look into Florence’s bunk.

“Do you mind if I climb in?” Isa asked her hesitantly.

Florence moved to the back so that there was a bit of room for Isa’s body. “Come in, please.”

Isa climbed into Florence’s bunk. “I hope you don’t mind,” she whispered.

Florence noticed that they were slowing down when Isa fell into the bunk on top of her because of a sudden brake action. “What’s happening?”

“We’re taking a break,” Isa answered, “but I have a feeling that you don’t want to join the others, do you?”

“Not really, no.” Florence let herself fall back with a sigh.

“Are you okay, Flo?” Isa asked slowly. She drew the curtains and lay on her side, facing Florence.

Florence blushed. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “This is so exhausting, not at all like we had imagined.”

“I know,” Isa nodded. “Everyone is exhausted. We really need a break.”

“I’m sorry that I’m so difficult.” Florence felt as if she had disappointed Isa somehow. “Everyone has a hard time and yet they manage to keep calm.”

Isa shook her head. “It’s probably not the best strategy to keep all your anger inside.”

Florence turned around so she was lying on her back. If she reached out her hands, she could touch the ceiling of her bunk. Sitting up straight was impossible.

The bus stopped and Florence could hear the sound of the door opening.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“Somewhere between Dallas and Houston,” Isa answered. “It’s just a motorway services, nothing special.”

“Can you stay with me?” Florence asked timidly.

“Of course. I’m not hungry anyway.”

Isa’s warm tone of voice was reassuring to Florence. “Thank you.”

“We can cancel the tour if you want to,” Isa suggested out of the blue. “You wouldn’t be the first rock star to do that.”

Florence looked at her in offense. “That’s the last thing I want to do.”

Isa smiled. “I know, I’m just messing with you.” Then she turned serious. “But you need to relax.”

“It’s impossible in this.” Florence hit the wall next to her forcefully.

“Careful.” Isa gripped her hand. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

Florence relaxed her hand. “I’m sorry. I just really hate this bus.”

“I could help you with that,” Isa said vaguely.

“How do you mean?” Florence asked.

“I mean …” Isa put one hand suggestively on Florence’s thigh. “If you want.”

“What about the others?” Florence hissed. “They could come back any moment.”

“No, they couldn’t,” Isa disagreed. “They’re taking a longer break.”

Florence still was not convinced. “And this is supposed to relax me?” she asked.

“Yes,” Isa confirmed, “and give you a positive memory in this bus and bunk.”

Florence and Isa had not had sex in a couple of months now. Back in London, they had been too busy and before that, Isa had gone to California to work on her own projects. Florence could not deny that she longed to be touched by Isa again, but she was not sure if this was the right place.

Isa could sense that Florence was still on the fence about this. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to, of course.” She quickly removed her hand from Florence’s thigh.

Florence took hold of her wrist. “I want to,” she said. “I want _you_ ,” she corrected herself. Slowly, she led Isa’s hand between her legs. “Please.”

Isa’s eyes were wide with arousal. “All right,” she said, licking her lips, “but be quiet just in case. We don’t know when the others will be back.”

Florence bit her lip. She knew she could be quite loud in bed. Isa had commented on this before, but not as a way of critiquing Florence. Quite the opposite. But Florence could see that Isabella had a point.

Isa moved closer to Florence. If they lay like this, they fit into the bunk together, but they would not have been able to sleep like this.

“What can I do for you?” Isa asked in a low voice.

Florence blushed. “There isn’t a lot we can do in here, is there?” She vaguely gestured at the confined space.

“There is always something we can do.” Isa winked at her.

Isa’s hand still rested between Florence’s thighs, but now she moved it up further to the waistband of Florence’s trousers. Florence was still lying on her back, but her head was turned to Isa.

“Don’t expect me to get out of these trousers,” she warned Isa.

“I think my fingers are skilled enough that this won’t be necessary.”

Isa winked again and Florence shuddered. She could never resist Isa winking at her like this. To help Isa, Florence tried to open her trousers, but Isa batted her hand away.

“You need to relax,” Isa told her. “Let me take care of you.”

Florence lowered her hands but raised her head slightly so she could watch what Isa was doing. Isa did what Florence had tried to do and opened Florence’s trousers. Since it was a travel day, Florence was wearing wide trousers which were held in place around her waist by a cord – Isa untied it. It was astonishing how Isa managed to find a good position in a space this cramped.

When Isa’s fingers stroked across Florence’s knickers, Florence’s breath caught in her throat. Isa teased the tip of her finger over the damp fabric and Florence stifled a moan. This was taken as an invitation to help Florence with the task of keeping quiet.

Soon, Isa’s lips were on Florence’s catching every moan and releasing it back into the air between them. Florence could not hold back any longer and moved her hips to meet Isa’s teasing finger.

“Don’t be impatient,” Isa warned her. “You don’t want this to be over yet, do you?”

Florence really did not want it to be over yet, but she was also worried that the others would be back soon. Isa was taking her time with Florence though. To prevent her from moving her hips further, Isa climbed on top of her and pinned her down with her free hand. Florence closed her eyes and submitted to Isa’s finger, which had now left her knickers and was softly stroking across her upper thigh. If Florence had not known better, she would have thought that Isa was deliberately stalling for time.

Finally, Isa pulled Florence’s knickers to the side and touched her where she longed to be touched.

“Fuck, you’re wet,” Isa hissed when she touched Florence.

Florence put on a smug smile. “I tried to warn you, didn’t I?”

Isa did not let Florence be cheeky go unpunished. She pushed one finger inside of Florence to shut her up, but it only made Florence moan loudly.

Isa’s nails dug into Florence’s hip. “I told you to be quiet,” she warned her.

Florence raised her hips to meet Isa’s thrusts. “Make me,” she challenged.

Isa pushed a second finger inside of her and Florence yelped in surprise.

“Are you all right, Flo?”

To both their horror, it was not Isa who had asked this question, but Roo. Isa’s hand, which had gripped Florence’s hip, shot up to hold Florence’s mouth shut. Both watched as the curtain in front of the bunk began to move.

Florence pulled away Isa’s hand. “Don’t worry, Roo, I’m fine. It was just a dream.”

“Are you sure? Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” Florence willed her to go away. “Everything’s just fine.”

“Okay.” Roo did not seem to be convinced. “I’ll be in the front if you need me.”

Florence managed to stifle a frustrated sigh. “We should stop,” she whispered into Isa’s ear.

“Oh no,” Isa disagreed. “It’s just getting interested.”

“But what if she hears us?” Florence pointed out.

“She won’t if you do what I tell you to do,” Isa said, a wicked grin on her face.

She began to move her fingers again and Florence bit her lips in a desperate attempt to remain quiet. Still, a tiny moan escaped her lips.

Isa pressed her mouth to Florence’s. To prevent Florence from making any more sounds, she began to move her tongue in and out in time with her fingers. This was not helpful for Florence.

Isa bit Florence’s bottom lip. “Quieten down,” she ordered, “or she will hear us.”

A third finger found its way into Florence and she had no idea how she managed not to cry out in pleasure. She held on to Isa’s back and let herself be fucked by her.

“Touch yourself,” Isa told her suddenly.

“Yes,” Florence hissed.

Her fingers stroked against Isa’s and she touched herself, moving much faster than Isa.

“I can feel that you’re close,” Isa whispered into Florence’s ear. “Would you like to come?”

“Yes.” Florence had her eyes closed and was lost in the feeling of Isa inside of her.

“Do you think you can come quietly?” Isa asked her.

Florence shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.”

Isa stopped moving her fingers. “Well, then you won’t come at all.”

“No, please,” Florence pleaded. “Please don’t stop.”

“Then be quiet.”

Florence bit down on her free hand to show Isa that she was willing to follow her wishes. Isa began to move her fingers again slowly and Florence kept still, even though she was praying for Isa to move faster. All throughout their exchange, Florence had not stopped touching herself and could feel how she was getting closer and closer.

When Florence came, she moaned loudly and even though her hand was in her mouth, she was sure that Roo had heard her.

“That wasn’t very quiet,” Isa chided her.

“What shall we do?” Florence asked with panic in her voice. Now that she was coming down from her high, her sense of shame returned to her.

“Well, I can’t leave now, obviously,” Isa told her. “I have to hide in here for a bit.”

“For how long?” Florence was beginning to feel hot and craved room to stretch out her limbs.

“For as long as I say,” Isa answered. She lay down next to Florence, snuggling close to her. “Also, I’m not leaving until you’ve repaid the favour.”


End file.
